The Summer Push
by RosieShiba
Summary: Dawn and her friends go to the swimming baths but when they bump into the boys, things become slightly odd. Ikari if you squint :  For SurferGurl14's contest!


**For SuferGurl14's summer contest! I think I may have cheated here a bit because this is sort of a prelude into a longer fic which is to come. I hope this is OK!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own Pokémon.**

**The Summer Push **

The sun was up, the breeze was nice and the temperature was oh so right. Another quiet day in the back yard of Linnet's house. She was sat on a sun bed with her large white sun hat on, sunglasses covering her eyes, the latest summer fashion, i.e. a white camisole top with denim shorts and blue flip flops. A book was nestled in her hands as she laid on the stomach, reading. A glass of fresh lemonade sat on the floor next to her bed, a pink straw and a cocktail umbrella sticking out of the ice.

Oh this summer was going to be good.

Knock, knock, knock.

Linnet looked up as she heard her mother talk to someone. It sounded like a group of people in fact. Wondering who it was, Linnet sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the sun bed. Oh no, it's them.

Dawn was her cousin on her mother's side. She was cute and a goody goody, not really known by many people but that's how she liked it. She was always happy to help with a large smile on her face. Linnet couldn't stand her personally but Dawn had always made her feel welcome in her friendship group. Linnet brushed her aqua blue fringe out of her eyes and let out a sigh.

Behind Dawn were May and Misty, Dawn's best friends. Both had horrible tempers but at least May didn't hit people when she was mad. May was a loud mouthed brunette with a weird hairstyle. She wore mainly red clothes which Linnet rated as boring. Misty was a tomboy carrot top with bright orange hair. Misty was the school's best swimmer and could easily be an Olympic swimmer if she wanted to be. Both were very nice girls but Linnet didn't care for them.

"Hi, Linnet," Dawn greeted her cousin.

"Hi, Dawn," Linnet replied, "What brings you here?"

"We were going to go to the swimming pool," Dawn explained happily, "You know the one in the city centre?"

"Oh, that one," Linnet said coldly, "The stupid one for children."

"It's not stupid," Misty snapped.

"It has a wave machine, a fake beach, a lazy river, five slides and water rapids," May counted off her fingers. She beamed at Linnet.

"We wondered if you'd like to come with us," Dawn said to Linnet.

"No thanks," Linnet replied, "I only do mature stuff."

"Mature… stuff?" Misty asked, not quite getting it.

"It's real mature," May said hurriedly, "Because with the all day ticket you can go into the saunas and Jacuzzis and everything."

Linnet stroked her cheek: "I guess my skin could do with some nice pore cleansing steam."

"So you'll come with us?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"Sure," Linnet replied, "Let me go and get my stuff."

"Great!" Dawn and May chorused.

Forty five minutes later, the four teens were stood outside the swimming complex with their bags full of swimwear. They walked in through the main doors, paid for the all day pass before going to get changed in the female changing room.

Fifteen minutes later Linnet walked out of her cubical to find that Dawn and May were waiting for her.

"Where's Misty?" Linnet asked.

"She's in the water already," May replied, "Come on lets go!"

Linnet eyed May cautiously. May was wearing a red swimming costume with white polka dots on it. There was a bow on the back of it. Dawn was wearing a pink swimming costume with a short skirt attached to it. The skirt was sparkly. Dawn had tied her hair up with a pink bobble. Linnet looked between the two and shook her head. What a couple of kids. At least Misty would take it seriously. Linnet was wearing a white and blue bikini with her aqua hair tied up in a loose bun. She walked with Dawn and May to the pool side.

It looked fantastic in there. There were five slides all around the room doing different things. There were palm trees on the fake beach. The lazy river went round the main pool. Everyone got a float before going on the lazy river. Linnet's jaw dropped. It looked amazing.

Misty swam up to them and ran along the beach.

"It's great in here!" Misty yelled, "The water is just right."

Linnet gawked at what Misty was wearing. She had a pale blue swimsuit on with a large grinning turtle stitched onto the stomach part. Misty smiled as she turned on her heel and ran back into the water. She dived into the depths and disappeared from view. May and Dawn giggled and ran into the water. Linnet paused for a few seconds as she debated the possibilities. Sauna or pool? She went to walk towards the sauna when she almost walked into a guy.

"Sorry," she muttered until she got a look at the guy in question, "Oh it's you. What are you doing here?"

She was talking to Gary Oak, the flirtatious jerk that hung around with Drew Hayden, Ash Ketchum and Paul Shinji. The latter three were OK, even if Paul was a complete jerk the majority of the time. Linnet just couldn't stand Gary.

"I could ask you the same question," Gary said. Linnet pointed over to the pool.

"I'm with my cousin," Linnet said.

"I'm here with my friends," Gary replied. The two glared at each other for a few seconds until the familiar purple haired guy walked up to them.

"You two arguing again?" Paul asked. He rolled his eyes and walked into the pool. Gary sniggered at Linnet before he walked after Paul.

"Linnet says she's here with her cousin," Gary told Paul, "You want to go and harass someone?"

Paul stopped walking and glared at Gary. Gary paused and gave a chuckle.

"Point taken, you are Paul Shinji," Gary said, "Come on."

Linnet found herself torn once again. She looked between the sauna and the pool. If she could get Dawn and the others to get Gary then she would feel a whole lot better. Stuff it, Gary deserved it. Linnet ran into the pool and quickly found her cousin and her friends.

"Oh, hi Linnet," Dawn said, "I thought you were going to hit the sauna."

"No time for that," Linnet said, "Gary Oak is here."

"Really?" Misty asked, "Man I hate that guy."

"I don't mind him," May said.

"The odds are Ketchum and Hayden are with him too," Linnet said, "I've already seen Paul."

"The mean, purple headed jerk?" Misty asked, "Oh this is so on!"

"Glad to have you on side," Linnet said, "Now what shall we do."

The four girls paused to think for a few seconds.

At the other side of the pool, the four boys were chilling. Drew was sat on the pool side because he didn't want to get his hair wet while Ash was paddling round in circles. Gary and Paul had their elbows on the pool side, relaxing like nothing was really going on.

"What are you going to do about Linnet?" Drew asked, "I mean, I know how you love her and all."

"Shut up," Gary said lazily, "And I'm not sure."

"Drown her," Paul said. This earned him a look from both Gary and Drew. "It was just a suggestion."

"Well, I say we each pick a girl," Gary said with an evil smile, "And the first one to bring back a bikini top wins."

"There may be a hole in your plan there, Oak," Paul said, pointing over at the girls, "Only Linnet is wearing a bikini."

"Fine then," Gary said, "The first one to bring back Linnet's bikini top is the winner."

Drew and Paul glanced at each other. Drew was smirking but Paul looked unconvinced. Paul slid back into the water.

"That's just wrong," Paul said, "And immature."

He pushed off from the side and swam into the deeper end of the pool. Drew and Gary grinned at each other.

"This is so on!" Drew yelled.

Linnet and the girls were happily floating along the lazy river when they came across Paul. He wasn't in the water but he was sat on the side of the river looking down at them. Linnet sat up in her yellow doughnut float and glared at Paul.

"What do you want?" she snapped. Dawn and May looked up too, suddenly very cautious to why Paul had found them. Paul glanced at the other three girls, his eyes lingering on Dawn the longest.

"Just a heads up," Paul said, "Oak and Hayden are going to annoy you soon."

"Whatever," Linnet shrugged, wiggling back into a comfortable position in her floating doughnut. She ignored Paul for now. Paul glanced at Dawn once more.

"Hey pinky," he said to Dawn. She looked at him, confusion fluttering on her expression. "You're a little big to be in kindergarten, right?"

"What?" Dawn asked.

"You dress like a three year old," Paul replied in a monotone before he walked away. Dawn leant forwards in her float.

"JERK!" she yelled. She flopped back into her float and let out a sigh.

"Wow," May said, "He really hit a spot there, didn't he?"

"Chill out, Dawn," Misty said, "We'll never see him again anyway."

"I suppose you're right," Dawn muttered. Linnet glanced at Dawn before she smiled. Paul usually didn't even acknowledge anyone unless they perked his interest. She noticed how he'd ignored the other two but not Dawn. She doubted it was because of Dawn's cute swimming apparel that Paul had to comment on it. Since when was he the fashion police?

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, girls," Linnet said, "If Gary and Drew are going to annoy us, remember two simple things: Flirt and conquer."

Misty, May and Dawn looked at each in an innocently confused way. Misty rolled her eyes finally and looked away. Things were going to get a whole lot girly in no time.

The girls didn't think about Gary and Drew for the rest of the day even though the two boys had several attempts at taking Linnet's bikini top. However the two boys seemed to be foiled in every attempt they made.

The girls went to the slides so Drew went for the 'casual walk past and grab tactic' but instead he was mobbed by a few girls screaming how handsome he was. Usually Drew would have relished the attention but by the time he broke free of the crowd, Linnet was already half way down the slide.

The girls went to sit on the beach for a few minutes to have a rest before going back into the main pool. Gary decided to go for the 'flirt your way into a tickle fight tactic' but when he went to walk out of the water onto the beach, a huge wave hit him and pulled him back into the water. When he finally got free of the water, the girls were in the pool.

Drew attempted the 'swim under the water like a shark' method. He spotted the girls and dove under the water. He swam under the water towards them until he hit his head hard on the pool side and floated back to the surface. The girls were no where to be seen.

The girls went back to relaxing on the lazy river. Gary saw this as an opportunity to implement the 'tip the float and grab in the commotion' tactic. He was doing well until his shorts got caught onto a float that was being used in a race and he was carried past the girls at break neck speed by two eleven year olds wearing speedos. Eventually the two kids stopped their race and found Gary's shorts attached to their float. Gary eventually got them back.

Now the boys weren't stupid. They realised that working apart was getting them no where so they decided to team up for their final tactic: the 'nothing else has worked so just go for it' method. They hid behind a fake palm tree as they waited for the girls to get close enough to them.

"On three," Gary said as the girls swam into the ideal place. "One… Two… Three!"

The two boys across the beach, heading towards the water when suddenly a huge current of water shot out of the ground beneath them. It was a water geezer. It sprayed water up at the boys at a high pressure making them fall onto the floor on their backs.

"That's it," Drew mumbled, "I quit."

"It's not worth my health," Gary agreed.

Paul was stood on the pool side with one of the life guards. They happened to be standing next to the poll control box. The life guard had his finger on the geezer button and a smirk on his face. Paul was grinning darkly.

"Thanks for your help," Paul told the life guard. Paul walked back to the beach and looked down at his friends.

They looked like beached starfish. Slightly annoyed, very depressed, beached starfish. Paul gave a dark chuckle.

"Having fun?" Paul asked, "I know I am."

It was at this point that Drew and Gary sat up sharply, glaring at their cruel hearted friend with a glare of pure hatred. Of course he had tried to foil their attempts at such a childish game. It was all a perverse game to Paul Shinji. Drew and Gary looked at each other before giving a defeat sigh.

"Should have known," Gary sighed.

"Yup," Drew agreed.

An alarm went off. It signalled the start of the wave machine. The boys glanced at each other before they walked into the water.

"Awesome," Drew said, "I love the wave machine."

"It is pretty cool," Gary said. Paul looked mildly interested in the waves. He looked around to see Ketchum on the beach, grasping his stomach in a pained way. Paul walked over to him to make sure he wouldn't throw up. He had probably been in the café this whole time. Gary and Drew didn't seem to notice that their purple haired friend had disappeared because the waves had started. They began gently at first and then began to get bigger.

The girls were enjoying the waves a little deeper in the pool. They were giggling as they jumped over each wave.

"Wow," May said, "They're really starting to get big."

"I know," Misty said, "It's like being in the ocean!"

There was a particularly big wave that made all four girls go under the water. They resurfaced a few seconds later only to be covered by another big wave.

May broke the surface first.

"I don't like this so much now," she told the others. Another wave covered them. Misty grabbed May and Linnet and pulled them away from the deeper water. A lot of people were getting out of the pool now.

"What's going on?" May gasped as she struggled to get onto the beach. She slipped on the wet floor. Two hands caught her and pulled her up.

"You girls ok?" Drew asked them. He looked genuinely concerned for them. Gary was stood watching the waves get steadily bigger and more powerful.

"I think there's a malfunction," Gary stated. Linnet stood up and looked into the pool. May and Misty did the same.

"Wait," May said, "Where's Dawn?"

"Oh no," Misty said. She went to run into the pool after her friend. A life guard cut her off.

"No one can go in the water," the life guard told her.

"But my friend is in there!" Misty yelled. The life guard seemed surprised at this. He couldn't see anyone. Dawn wasn't viable anymore.

Up above the pool on the higher poolside Paul and Ash were stood watching the waves. Paul saw Dawn in the water. She seemed to be struggling.

"Wow," Ash said, "Those waves are huge."

"She's in trouble," Paul stated, pointing at Dawn. Ash nodded. Paul looked around. He saw a life dingy in an orange box near him. He opened the box and pulled out the orange doughnut. Luckily it was attached to a lengthy white string. "I have an idea."

"Gotcha," Ash said.

"She's drowning!" May was wailing, "Do something!"

"We'll save her, don't worry," the life guard tried to calm the girls down. Gary's eyes widened as he saw Ash and Paul drop down onto the lower poolside. Paul had a thin white rope round his middle while Ash looked like he was wearing an orange doughnut. Ash stood behind a barrier and held the rope in his hands.

"Drew," Gary barked. Drew saw what Gary saw and the two of them rushed to help Ash and Paul.

Paul dived into the water and swam over to Dawn. He struggled himself despite being a powerful swimmer. How had Dawn coped? Finally he reached her and pulled her up above the water. Thankfully she was still conscious. She spluttered as she surfaced.

"Grab onto me and don't let go," Paul ordered. She nodded and latched onto Paul as tight as she could. Paul was surprised at how tight she was holding him. He secured one arm round her waist, leaving the other free to tug on the rope.

Slowly, Paul began to feel the tug on the rope that was pulling him to safety. The waves weren't getting any better but at least they were getting pulled back to the poolside. A few waves made them slip underneath the water but it was no big deal because the rope soon pulled them to the surface again.

It seemed like forever that the two of them were in the water. Paul hit the poolside hard as he was pulled towards it, fortunately he braced himself for impact before it happened. He was pulled up onto the poolside. Someone grabbed dawn from him and hauled her onto the side. He climbed the final bit himself.

The two teens sat panting for the next few minutes as life guards swarmed around them. Gary, Drew and Ash were pushed back so that the other two could be checked over.

"I am never becoming a life guard," Paul muttered.

"Why, you're so good at it," Dawn replied. She was holding her throat in a pained way. Paul didn't bother to reply to this. "Thank you."

"Hn?" Paul asked, slightly surprised at this.

"You really saved me," Dawn explained, looking at Paul. She smiled at him. "So thanks for saving me."

"Whatever," Paul brushed off, "Troublesome girl."

"My name is Dawn! D-A-W-N!" she yelled at him. Drew and Gary fell about laughing at her outburst. Even Paul was shocked at how loud she could shout.

"Troublesome," Paul repeated. Dawn pouted.

"You just saved my life," she said, "But the next time I hear you call me Troublesome, I'm going to hit you so hard!"

Paul glanced round at his three friends. Ash was double over from laughing so hard while Drew and Gary were supporting each other. Paul and Dawn glanced at each other. It was so tempting to throw them in the pool.

"I was so scared when you almost drowned," May told Dawn as the group sat on the bus on the way home. Dawn smiled at her friend.

"That stupid life guard wouldn't let me help," Misty moaned. She was still slightly annoyed by that.

"I'm just glad that they got the pool fixed," Dawn said quickly before Misty could moan more. Linnet looked thoughtful for a few seconds.

"It's weird," Linnet said, "Paul's never really taken an interest in anyone before."

"Interest?" May and Dawn asked.

"Not enough interest to make him save someone's life," Linnet explained.

"How many people has he seen in danger?" Misty asked.

"Well… Ursula, when she almost fell off that cliff; Kenny when he fell into that quick sand; Brock with that mob of fangirls," Linnet listed making the other girls sweat drop, "And a few others. But he never helped hands on. Usually he would send in Drew or Ash."

"So why would Paul help Dawn when Ash was there?" May asked. Dawn looked between her friends for a few moments as they went into deep thought. Dawn sweat dropped. This was going to be a long bus trip home.

Meanwhile the guys were walking towards the city centre. Drew and Ash were arguing about which shops they wanted to go in while Gary and Paul walked in silence. Gary glanced at the purple haired guy in hopes of inspiring a conversation.

"So you saved Dawn," Gary stated.

"I guess," Paul replied.

"You never get involved," Gary told him. Paul shrugged. "So what's the deal?"

"Nothing," Paul replied, "But I do suppose she interests me."

"That means you like her?" Gary asked. Paul paused for a few seconds before he glared at Gary.

"I thought you spoke 'Paul language'?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Thought so," Gary chuckled. Gary looked away from Paul and fist pumped the air. "This summer is going to be great!"

"Damn right!" Drew agreed. The boys glanced at Paul who looked as impressed as he did usually. Slowly he smirked and looked away from the guys.

"I guess that if we do happen to bump into a certain blue haired girl and her friends again, the summer will be much better," Paul admitted. The boys blinked several times. Paul ignored them for the time being as they began to talk about Linnet and her three friends. Paul looked up at the sky.

"Til we meet again, Troublesome," he muttered.

**Hehe. The longer fic will becoming soon I hope! There was so much I wanted to write about so I made the decision to make it a series rather than a one shot. Sorry. This will remain a one shot though so look out for my future fics!**

**RSx**


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